Significant efforts have been made toward enabling utilizing smartphones as keys for enabling access or commanding operation of an equipment device, such as a door or a vehicle. However, these conventional systems rely on what is considered a simplistic form of security that relies on the equipment device having network access to authenticate whether the smartphone has authority to direct operation of the equipment device. Such a conventional equipment device is unable to authenticate and/or authorize at least one of keys, devices, and users when an authority device has not previously communicated with the equipment device to identify authority for the key, device or user. In other words, in the absence of a communications link or lack of connectivity between the authority device and the equipment device, the equipment device in this conventional system is unable to determine if a smartphone attempting to communicate with the equipment device has been authorized by the authority device.
In a conventional key fob system utilized by vehicle manufacturers, the keys and/or authentication information for the key fob is distributed to an authority device before the keyfob is authenticated and/or authorized, and the authority device is able to communicate authority information to the equipment device.
Similar conventional systems may be unable to authenticate and/or authorize any key, device, or user during the absence of a communications link, because, for example, the system may rely on the equipment device being able to communicate with a cloud system (or other system component that is unreachable due to the lack of connectivity) during an authentication and/or authorization process. This scenario (lack of connectivity) may seem like a corner-case; however, it is actually very common—consider a car in a parking garage or a remote area, or a cottage in the woods, without cellular connectivity. Lack of connectivity in this circumstance may prevent enabling granting a smartphone or other device with rights to operate a vehicle or gain access to the cottage.